Racing to the Rescue! Red Dragon!

Creak.

Naito merely raised a hand, and the vent releasing anesthetic gas was instantly twisted into a knot by an invisible force. The gas stopped pouring in at once.

At the same time, the gate ahead took a heavy blow. With a tremendous crash, it was smashed off its hinges and sent flying.

"Fire!"

After the gate was blasted away, screams rang out as it crashed down. It must have hit quite a few people.

But an angry roar was even more piercing.

Behind the open doorway, a group of Marines had already formed ranks, their guns and cannons aimed at Naito and the others.

Gunfire and cannon fire erupted in a deafening rattle.

"Weevil!"

Buckingham patted her foolish son on the head.

"Okay, Mom!"

Weevil grinned goofily.

But there was nothing goofy about his attack.

"Shockwave!"

He clenched his right fist and struck. A violent shockwave surged forward like a raging tide.

Even the corridor's sturdy metal walls crumbled, and the heavy metal doorframe twisted.

The bullets hurtling toward the group were pulverized in an instant, and even the shockwaves from shells exploding in midair were blown away.

Then the shockwave finally swallowed the Marines arrayed ahead.

"Aaaagh!!"

Screams filled the air as every Marine was blown away in an instant, blood spraying from their skin in a fine mist.

Of course, not all the Marines had been taken down.

"Die, you bastard!!"

A man wearing a Rear Admiral's epaulettes lunged at Naito, blood spilling from his mouth.

But an invisible hand intercepted him halfway. With a light squeeze, it twisted the Rear Admiral's body like a caterpillar, and he fell helplessly to the ground.

"..."

The lieutenant commander guiding them had already been a bundle of nerves, and now his legs shook even harder.

These monsters-

"Let's go."

Naito calmly continued forward.

What did the bad things World had done have to do with him, Marine Naito?

And so they pressed on.

Soon, they arrived at a very unusual place.

"What is this?!"

Anthony gazed around, almost in awe.

Both sides of the passage were lined with solid ice, and within the thick layers were giants of outlandish size.

"They're all giants? And some are from the Ancient Giant Tribe?"

Buckingham was equally shaken. She even spotted several giants in the ice who were larger than ordinary giants and had horns growing from their heads.

"What on earth happened? How did they end up frozen here?!"

Naito thought that this had to be the Great Hammer Pirates of Elbaf legend.

The legendary shipwrights who had most likely participated in building Noah and Pluton.

Invisible matter gathered into a giant sword and slashed fiercely at the ice wall on one side.

A sharp impact rang out, and even the ground trembled slightly from the blow.

But the ice wall didn't react at all.

"What?"

Luna, who had been silently following at Naito's side, cried out in surprise.

Her master's attack hadn't worked?

Naito wasn't surprised.

So it really was ice made by Iron Thunder?

If it had been ordinary ice, the government would have gotten them out long ago.

Only ice created by Ice Squirrel Iron Thunder, which even Imu couldn't break, could have sealed them away and protected them for so long.

What about trying to draw them into a dream?

Naito activated the Dream-Dream Fruit's power.

It failed.

To draw them into a dream, they had to be capable of dreaming, at the very least.

World had been frozen too, but he had at least still been trapped in a nightmare. These people's consciousnesses, however, were completely dormant, leaving them in a state of suspended animation. Even if Naito wanted to draw them in, there was nothing to reach for.

Forget it. He would deal with it if he had a chance to meet Loki later.

And so, the lieutenant commander led the group onward.

After defeating several more groups who tried to stop them along the way, they gradually made their way into the heart of the research base.

This was where the Science Unit's scientists worked.

The lieutenant commander guiding them didn't know where Vegapunk's collection was kept, but the scientists were a different matter.

Just as Naito was thinking this, a voice came from around the corner ahead.

"That bastard Vegapunk! He ran off without even telling me! Which bastard turned off the alarm in my lab?! Ah—it was me. I set off the alarm during my last experiment, so I turned it off. No, wait, this is definitely all that bastard Vegapunk's fault!"

Amid the angry complaints, a figure floated around the corner like a ghost.

His body floated like gas, and he wore a white lab coat that had likewise almost turned to gas. A pair of goat horns grew from his head.

"Oh?"

Buckingham's eyes lit up at once. "Caesar!"

They hadn't found Vegapunk, but wasn't this another old acquaintance?

The corners of Naito's mouth lifted as well.

Caesar Clown.

Hadn't the perfect link just appeared?

Chapter 28: Racing to the Rescue! Red Dragon!

A little earlier.

The Marine Guerrilla Unit.

While Naito was lifting weights expressionlessly, Zephyr had been working hard on his rehabilitation, until a communications soldier hurried onto the deck, anxiously carrying a Den Den Mushi. "Admiral! An urgent call from headquarters!"

Zephyr froze for a moment, then immediately set down his weights and took the Den Den Mushi.

"This is the Marine Guerrilla Unit. Zephyr speaking."

"Mr. Zephyr! Those fugitives have attacked Punk Hazard. Fleet Admiral Sengoku wants you to head there immediately and provide support!"

"What!!"

Zephyr's expression changed abruptly.

Punk Hazard?

How could it be Punk Hazard?

The Marine Science Unit's location was supposed to be classified!

"All right! We're on our way!"

Zephyr hung up.

"Teacher Zephyr..."

Vice Admiral Simon, who had been drinking tea nearby, stood up, his expression equally grave.

"Pass the order, Simon!"

Zephyr took a deep breath. "Change course and head for Punk Hazard at full speed!"

"Yes, sir!"

Vice Admiral Simon didn't hesitate. He immediately turned and went to make the arrangements.

Zephyr looked back at Naito, who was still mechanically lifting weights. "Naito, stop and recover your strength first."

At this distance, could they really make it in time?

Zephyr wasn't sure.

But it couldn't hurt to get ready first.

"Hm?"

A little life returned to the botlike Naito's eyes. He nodded wearily. "Okay, I'll get some sleep first."

He lay down and fell asleep.

Now, Punk Hazard.

Deep inside the research base.

"Huh?"

Caesar Clown, the Marine Science Unit's number two scientist, stared blankly at the group before him. He had been so absorbed in his experiments, and had turned off the alarm, that he had only belatedly discovered the intruders and hurriedly prepared to evacuate.

"Hahaha, hello there!"

Anthony waved at him with a mischievous grin.

"Uh-"

Beads of sweat visibly rolled down Caesar's face.

"Ha ha... ha..."